Mould for a continuous casting machine



April 2, 1963 M. s. BOICHENKO ETAL 3,375,865

MOULD FOR A CONTINUOUS CASTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 26, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet. 1

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April 2, 1968 M. s. BOICHENKO ETAL 3,375,865

MOULD FOR A CONTINUOUS CASTING MACHINE Filed 061;. 26, 1964 I5 Sheets-Sheet I" 7 7 2827 ZH/' ?Z 35 April 2, 1968 M. s. BOICHENKO ETAL 3,375,865

MOULD FOR A CONTINUOUS CASTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 26, 1964 v F/G. 7

United States Patent ()fitice 3,375,865 MOULD FOR A CONTINUOUS CASTING MACHINE Mikhail Stepanovich Boichenko, Dmitry Petrovich Evteev,

Alexandr Stepanovich Kaushansky, Viktor Alexandrovich Karpeka, Lidia Konstantinovna Orlova, Viktor Sergeevich Pravdin, Alexandr Petrovich Savchenko, Alexandr Kononovich Fisjun, Veniarnin Veniaminovich Fulmakht, and Alexandr Nickolaevich Shahanov, Moscow, U.S.S.R., assignors to Tsentralny Nauchno- Issledovatelsky Institute Chernoi Metallurgii irn. I. P. Bardina and Gosudarstvenny Sojuzny Institute proclitirovanija metallurgicheskikh Zavodor, both of Moscow, U.S.S.R.

Filed Oct. 26, 1964, Ser. No. 406,352 9 Claims. (Cl. 164--283) The present invention relates to moulds and more particularly to moulds for use in continuous casting machines.

There are known moulds for continuous casting which are of the sectional type. That is, the moulds comprise opposite pairs of walls, generally a shorter pair and a longer pair. In such moulds, the walls forming the short sides thereof are clamped in place by the wall forming the long sides thereof. Around this clamped structure are external walls to which the clamped structure is generally secured by pins or the like.

The use of such a mould presents certain disadvantages, such as the fact that the mould cannot be rebuilt in the event that it is desired to vary the size of ingots or the like being cast in the mould. In addition, when casting metals of varying grades, it is not possible to change the angle of inclination of the walls forming the short sides of the mould.

A further disadvantage is that during the operation of a continuous casting machine with such a mould, it is quite difiicult to replace the mould if such becomes necessary or convenient because such replacement involves disconnection and subsequent re-connection of numerous water lines for the supply of coolant. Such replacement also requires careful adjustment of the axis of the mould in relation to the axis of the casting machine.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the above disadvantages. A further object of the present invention is to provide a mould comprising short and long sides in which the walls forming the short sides are adapted for moving along the walls forming the long sides to thereby enable a change in the size or shape of the mould and therefore a change in the size or shape of the cast material.

The device according to the present invention enables the casting of ingots of varying width using the same mould. In addition to varying the width of the ingots, the present invention is also adapted to change the inclination of the walls so that metals of varying grades can also be cast.

The mould is cooled by a cooling liquid which is sup plied to the mould through collectors which communicate with the mould by means of apertures in the walls thereof. The collectors are clamped together and secured to the mould by compressed springs, which are released during replacement or servicing of the mould by means of hydraulic cylinders acting upon the springs.

The present invention will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention together with the appended drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional view of the mould;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal section view of a portion of the mould with a device for adjusting the walls forming the short sides of the mould;

Patented Apr. 2, 1968 FIGURE 3 is a view of the device shown in FIG. 2 along the arrow B of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation view of the mould shown mounted on a table or the like;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 taken on the line A-A of FIG. 4;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of FIG. 5 taken on the line CC of FIG. 5; and

FIGURE 7 is a diagram showing the connection of a collector with a channel for the supply of Water to the mould.

Turning now to the drawings, the proposed mould has a first pair of internal walls or chill plates 1 which comprise the long sides of the mould, and a second pair of internal walls or chill plates 2 which comprise the short sides of the mould. Walls or chill plates 1 and 2 are provided with a plurality of apertures 3 for the circulation of cooling water within the mould. Pins 41 secure the walls or chill plates 1 to external back plates 5, said external back plate 5 being externally secured to one another by screw tie rods 6 and stationary walls 7.

Walls or chill plates 2 are likewise secured by pins 4 to back plates 9 provided with openings. Back plates 9 are prevented from being vertically displaced by screw tie rods 6 which pass through slide blocks 10 and lugs located on back plates 9. At the same time, walls or chill plates 2 are able to be horizontally displaced by moving same through openings 8 in back plates 5 so as to permit changing the size of the mould for casting ingots of different widths.

Walls 2 are horizontally displaceable by means of the arrangement shown in FIG. 2. Screws 11 are fixed at one end thereof in back plates 9, and in the other end thereof in slide block 12 by trunnions 13 which trunnions are inserted in vertical slots 14 of longitudinal slot 15 provided in an end of stationary wall 7 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Screws 11 are in threaded engagement with nuts 16 which are fixed on back plates 9, such that, when screws 11 are rotated, nut 16 are horizontally displaced and urge back plates 9 and walls 2 which are joined thereto inwardly to change the width of the mould.

At the same time, or independently of changing the width of the mould, trunnions 13 are adjustable to permit changing the angle of inclination of walls 2.

As seen in FIG. 4, the mould is mounted on table 17 which is adapted to vertically reciprocate on columns 19 secured to plate 20. There is provided means 18 connected to table 17 for imparting reciprocating motion to table 17. As table 17 reciprocates, so too does the mould mounted thereon.

For operating a machine including the present mould, water for cooling is supplied to the reciprocating mould through channels 21 shown in FIG. 1. Channels 21 are arranged along the length of walls 1 in the lower portion of the mould, and communicate with walls 1 by means of connecting pipes 26, secured by annular packings 22 made of an elastic material which packings are secured with threaded washers 23. The water thus supplied to walls 1 is circulated to walls 2 via flexible sleeves 24 which place the channels of the respective walls 1 and 2 in communication. The flexibility 0f sleeves 24 also enable changing the relative position of walls 2 when rebuilding the mould or changing its shape. Water is delivered to channels 21 from a pair of hollow collectors 25 arranged along the walls 1 of the mould. Collectors 25 receive water from an external source through branch pipes 27 connected to flexible hoses 28.

There now follows a description of the mechanism whereby the mould can be easily broken down for servicing or adjusting of the size or shape thereof.

At opposite ends of each of the collectors 25, protruding beyond the mould, are secured rams 29, along which the other collector can slide, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In the ends of the rams 29 are formed hydraulic cylinders, to which a pressure fluid is supplied through holes provided in the rams 29. Pistons 30 are slidably mounted in the hydraulic cylinders and act on covers 31 connected with the collectors 25. The rams 29 are provided with shoulders against which one end of springs 32 act. The other end of the springs 32 act on the shoulders of sockets 33 connected with the same collector 25. During the operation of the mould there is no pressure in the hydraulic system, and the springs 32 urge the collectors 25 toward the mould walls, pressing the connecting pipes 26 against the packings 22 with a force exceeding the counter-pressure of the cooling water. During the replacement of the mould the hydraulic cylinders and pistons are activated to overcome the pressure of the springs 32 and move the collectors 25 away from one another a distance suflicient for a free extraction and subsequent placement of the mould in the correct position.

When it is desired to replace or reposition the mould, the hydraulic cylinders are actuated, thereby overcoming the pressure of springs 32 to urge collectors 25 apart a distance suflicient to remove the mold or adjust same. While in the specific embodiment shown, the shoulders on rams 29 limit the extent of separation of the collectors 25, other means such as a screw and worm arrangement may as well be employed.

To insure that both collectors 25 are separated from their respective walls 1 by equal distances, and not by a distance greater than desired, there are provided adjustable bolts 34 mounted on columns 19.

The heads of bolts 34 are in alignment with collectors 25 such that movement of the collector 25 beyond a predetermined point will be prevented by contact of the collectors 25 with their respective bolts 34.

Collectors 25 are suspended from the frame of table 17 by screw tie rods 35 which are adjustable to permit collectors 25 to be suspended at a height corresponding to alignment of the collectors 25 with channels 21 of walls 1.

When the collectors are thusly freely suspended, shifting of the collectors 25 along an axis parallel to walls 1 must be prevented or strain will develop at the junction of connecting pipes 26 and channels 21. Such shifting is prevented by corresponding sets of teeth and guide slots provided on collectors 25 and the frame of table 17.

Water is drained from the mould by outlet pipes 36 in a hollowed portion of table 17, which pipes are connected to flexible hoses 37.

For securing the mould to table 17, there are provided on stationary walls 7 guiding projections 38, which are engageable with corresponding slots on table 17 and brackets 39 by means of which the mould rests on table 17 and is bolted thereto.

By means of the above described hydraulic cylinders and pistons 30, it becomes relatively simple to connect and disconnect all water supply means so as to be able to effect the objects of the invention, namely, adjusting, replacing and for servicing of the mould.

What is claimed is:

1. A mould for a continuous casting machine comprising two pairs of oppositely facing walls defining therebetween a mould cavity, means for securing said pairs of walls together, means connected to a first of said pairs of walls for displacing the same towards and away from one another to thereby change the size of said mould cavity, at least one of said pairs of walls being provided with channels for the flow of cooling fluid therethrough, a pair of movable fluid collectors for supplying cooling fluid to said channels, and means to displace the fluid collectors relative to the walls of said one pair to selectively place said fluid collectors in abutting relation with said walls and in fluid communication with the channels therein.

2. A mould as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means to displace the fluid collectors includes ram means on which said movable fluid collectors are mounted for being displaced toward and away from said walls, resilient means acting on said ram means and at least one of the fluid collectors for displacing the fluid collectors in one direction and hydraulic piston and cylinder means acting against the action of said resilient means on said one collector and the ram means for displacing said fluid collectors in an opposite direction.

3. A mould as claimed in claim 2 wherein said resilient means acts on the ram means and said one fluid collector to urge the fluid collectors toward the walls of the said one pair and the hydraulic piston and cylinder means acts on the said one fluid collector and the ram means to move the fluid collectors away from the walls of said one pair.

4. A mould as claimed in claim 2 wherein said ram means comprises a ram member on which a first of said collectors is secured and the second of the collectors is slidably mounted, said piston and cylinder means being constituted by a cylinder formed in said ram member and opening externally thereof and a piston slidably mounted in the cylinder and extending therefrom to contact said second collector.

5. A mould as claimed in claim 1 wherein the movable fluid collectors include fluid inlet means for receiving fluid from an external source and fluid outlet means for supplying fluid to the channels.

6. In combination with the mould as claimed in claim 1, means for limiting the displacement of the movable fluid collectors away from the walls of said one pair.

7. The combination as claimed in claim 6, wherein said means for limiting the displacement of the movable fluid collectors comprises a table on which the mould is mounted, said table including at least one pair of independently adjustable bolts having heads, said bolts being spatially positioned such that as the movable fluid collectors are displaced away from the walls of said one pair beyond a predetermined point, the heads of said bolts engage said fluid collectors.

8. The combination as claimed in claim 6, wherein said means for limiting the displacement of the movable fluid collectors further comprises means secured to the table for suspending the movable fluid collectors therefrom at a height at which said movable fluid collectors are in alignment with the mould.

9. The combination as claimed in claim 6, wherein the table is provided with slots and said means for limiting the displacement of the movable fluid collectors further comprises teeth mounted on the fluid collectors in engagement in said slots.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,154,234 4/1939 Eppensteiner 22212 X 2,316,180 4/1943 Mueller 22177 X 2,767,449 10/1956 Tueth 22177 X 3,157,921 11/1964 Porter 22572 3,228,071 1/1966 Schultz 22572 FOREIGN PATENTS 233,187 4/ 1964 Austria. 1,125,594 3/ 1962 Germany.

128,581 8/1959 U.S.S.R.

J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

R. S. ANNEAR, Assistant Examiner, 

1. A MOULD FOR A CONTINUOUS CASTING MACHINE COMPRISING TWO PAIRS OF OPPOSITELY FACING WALLS DEFINING THEREBETWEEN A MOULD CAVITY, MEANS FOR SECURING SAID PAIRS OF WALLS TOGETHER, MEANS CONNECTED TO A FIRST OF SAID PAIRS OF WALLS FOR DISPLACING THE SAME TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER TO THEREBY CHANGE THE SIZE OF SAID MOULD CAVITY, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PAIRS OF WALLS BEING PROVIDED WITH CHANNELS FOR THE FLOW OF COOLING FLUID THERETHROUGH, A PAIR OF MOVABLE FLUID COLLECTOERS FOR SUPPLYING COOLING FLUID TO SAID CHANNELS, AND MEANS TO DISPLACE THE FLUID COLLECTORS RELATIVE TO THE WALLS OF SAID ONE PAIR TO SELECTIVELY PLACE SAID FLUID COLLECTORS IN ABUTTING RELATION WITH SAID WALLS AND IN FLUID COMMUNICATION WITH THE CHANNELS THEREIN. 